Happy Birthday, Sasuke!
by SilenceEchoes39
Summary: Its July 23rd but will Sasuke spend his birthday the way he usually does, or will he decide to accept a little bit of company on his special day? A late little birthday fic for our dear Sasuke that I actually wrote a while ago.


The rain poured down ceaselessly in the village of Konoha, the few villagers who wandered the streets became less and less as they sought shelter from the cold and the rain.  
Desolation however, resided in the barren remains of the Uchiha Compound. It had not always been that way though. It had once been busy with life, shinobi and kunoichi gifted with the sharingan going on missions and adding to Konohagakure's reputation of being the strongest of the Five Great Nations.  
Though that had been five years ago.  
Now the houses that the members of the Uchiha clan had managed to keep impeccably clean were vacant and while the former tenants had never set foot back in their homes after that horrific night, the houses still retained their cleanliness, thanks to the lone survivor of the clan who made sure to keep the porches swept and the windows cobweb free as if he expected his fellow clansmen to return home any day now.  
This day however, a noise could be heard from the Uchiha Compound, even over the pounding of the rain on the rooftops.  
It was the sound of a flute. It was sweet and melodious as it continued to flow through the vacant compound.  
In his backyard in front of the large koi pond, sat Sasuke Uchiha, his legs crossed as he continued to play music with the elegant instrument that was pressed against his lips.  
Sasuke paid no heed to the droplets of water that continued to pour down from the dreary grey sky and soaked through his clothes and onto his skin. Instead he was more focused on the notes as they continued to flow through his mind. High and low, the sound continued to reach him, plaguing his constricting heart and Sasuke found himself lost in the music and his memories.

On his fifth birthday, Sasuke found his mother sitting on the back porch, with an elegantly crafted white flute pressed to her lips and her fingers moving gracefully along the instrument to create a sweet and melodious music that entranced Sasuke the moment it reached his ears.  
During Sasuke's childhood, it was Itachi and his father who taught him how to be a shinobi, but it was Mikoto, who taught Sasuke about finding beauty in the smallest things in life, playing the flute was one of those things. Sasuke loved to hear his mother play the flute, he loved the graceful flow of the music, he loved the way his mother's expression was so serene while she played. If Sasuke had had a bad day or had injured himself training with Itachi, she would play for him.  
The last time Mikoto had played the flute for him, had been on his seventh birthday, while Fugaku and Itachi had been out on a short mission.  
He still remembered the notes so clearly, as if it had been only yesterday that she had played for him. That beautiful tune still echoed through his mind today, but since that night, a tragic twist had been added to those notes.  
Sasuke's fingers stopped moving and so did the music.  
"I didn't know you played the flute, Sasuke?"  
Sasuke didn't turn around to acknowledge the sudden appearance of his masked teacher; instead, he simply kept his gaze on the two largest koi fish that continued to move together through the water as if they were one entity.  
"My mother used to play it to me." Sasuke said when he heard the wet crunch of grass as his sensei came up to stand behind him. "I started playing after that night…" Sasuke's grip on the wooden instrument tightened for an instance before it loosened once more. "It just felt like a way I could honour her… and keep her close... keep them all close"  
Sasuke wasn't quite sure why he was telling Kakashi this, he shouldn't be telling him this, it wasn't any of his business. Normally he would have just brushed Kakashi off by giving him a snide remark. Maybe it was because he was feeling especially morose today? Whatever the reason was, he strangely didn't regret sharing this information with Kakashi.  
"Strange, after all the times I've been here, I've never heard or seen you play." Kakashi watched Sasuke rub his thumb up and down the wooden surface of the flute rested in his lap.  
"I don't play it often… only on special occasions."  
"Hm." Kakashi hummed thoughtfully.  
"Look, Kakashi, I don't expect you understand." Sasuke sighed, somewhat irritably.  
"Oh contraire, Sasuke, I understand more than you think."  
When Sasuke looked up to get a look at his sensei for the first time since he appeared in his yard, he was surprised to be met with an affectionate gaze. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the look Kakashi was giving him; Sasuke turned his gaze to the flute in his lap.  
"What do you want, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked, he wanted Kakashi to leave so that he could play his flute in privacy.  
"I merely wanted to see how you were doing… and to wish you a happy birthday."  
"Hn."  
Kakashi knelt down beside the boy and placed a gloved hand on Sasuke's shoulder.  
"I may have also let slip the occasion to Naruto and Sakura," Kakashi said in a low voice and Sasuke could hear the underlying amusement in his teacher's voice, "Now they want to throw you a little surprise at Ichiraku's."  
Sasuke rolled his eyes.  
"And this is information to me because?"  
"Well considering all the trouble they've gone through to organise this, I figured I'd come and get your confirmation that you'd be there, to let us spend your special day with you."  
Sasuke's frown deepened. It hadn't been since his clan was murdered that he had spent his birthday with anyone.  
"I'll think about it." Sasuke muttered.  
"Alright, no one's forcing you, but you know where to find us if you come to a decision." And with that said, Kakashi stood up and in a puff of smoke, disappeared.  
Sasuke stared at the spot where Kakashi had been only moments ago, before he brought the flute back up to his lips and let his fingers get back to work.

It had finally stopped raining but the chill in the air remained. The sun was setting and Sasuke was on his way to the training field, when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.  
Sasuke stared at the pathway beneath his feet and contemplated where it was he really wanted to be.  
It was his fourteenth birthday; did he really want to spend it by training alone in the dark? He had done it countless other times over the past four years so why now was he thinking against it? What was so different about his birthday this time, that he kind of wanted to spend it in the company of others, like he did when he was young?  
Sasuke clenched his jaw and closed his eyes before he turned around and walked away from the direction of the training grounds.

When Sasuke saw the all too familiar Ichiraku ramen stand come into view, the first thing he saw was a head of spiky blonde beside another head of bright pink hair looking out from the stand.  
As soon as Naruto caught sight of Sasuke, that wide idiotic grin spread across his whiskered face and once Sakura noticed him as well, her face lit up with an ecstatic smile and once Sasuke was close enough, the two of them rushed up to greet him and wish him a happy birthday. Kakashi was seated on one of stools at the counter and when Sasuke caught his eye, he gave him a nod of approval and Sasuke could tell that he was smiling beneath that mask of his.  
Sasuke sat on one of the stools in the middle of Naruto and Sakura who spoke to him in excited voices while Kakashi ordered them their ramen.  
Team 7 spent most of the night together and for the first time in five years, Sasuke wasn't alone for his birthday.

* * *

_Sigh... _I know I missed Sasuke's birthday but the truth is I'm just too impatient to wait for next year to post this. So think of this as a late birthday present for Sasu-cakes =3

Enjoy!


End file.
